Puerto Rican Sofrito

A Puerto Rican without sofrito is like a day without sunshine. Ok, maybe I’m being a bit melodramatic, but there’s no denying the moment of panic that strikes me whenever my sofrito stash is running low. Luckily, Puerto Rican sofrito is SO EASY to make, that 10 minutes of your time will yield you weeks, if not months, of flavor. Akin to the mirepoix of French cookery, sofrito is the basis for many dishes in various Caribbean cultures, including stews, soups, rice and bean dishes. Essentially, we use it for anything that’s cooked in some sort of liquid. There’s some debate about what is and isn’t part of sofrito, and that answer will change depending on what country you’re referring to. In Puerto Rico, we call it “recaito”. The pungent herb recao (AKA culantro) and ajíes dulces (sweet chili peppers) are the contributing flavor profiles to recao. These ingredients can usually be found in Asian or Latin supermarkets. If you can’t find these 2 ingredients, substitute with cilantro and cubanelle peppers, respectively.

Dominican sofrito, called sazón in that country, uses vinegar for a flavor punch and annatto for color. Cuban sofrito employs tomatoes and red bell peppers to sweeten it up and add color, as well as diced ham. So just to be clear, we’re making recaito!

Wash and prepare all the ingredients for the food processor (or blender). For the peppers, this means de-stemming and de-seeding them. Chop the onion into chunks, and peel the garlic cloves.

Add everything into the food processor (or blender). If using a blender, you may have to add water to get the veggies to blend. You can strain the liquid after blending so that the sofrito doesn’t end up with too much liquid.

Blend until everything is finely pureed.

Use a funnel to pour the mixture into a storage container. If storing long term, pour the sofrito into small 2 – 3oz. bathroom cups or ice cube trays and freeze the sofrito. Then just pull out a cup/cube whenever you need it for a recipe.

Use a few tablespoons in your next rice, beans, stew or soup recipe! Or try some of these recipes from Delish D’Lites, all featuring sofrito.

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16 comments

Translated to “little sweet peppers”, they’re the little peppers pictured in the blog post that are native to the Caribbean. They can be found in Latin or Asian supermarkets, or can be substituted with cubanelle peppers.

LOVE LOVE your site, refer back to you all the time. I need YOUR version of adobo seasoning. I have a huge urge for what I called “Cuban meat pies” as a child growing up in Miami. I’m making the sofrito today but my homemade adobo tastes extremely salty…do I have it right?

first of all I love your blog! Second of all, thank you for posting this! I grew up in NY and though I am not Puertorican, I was brought up by a Puertorican Trini family. Every year I would get sofrito in a container for xmas that I would keep in the freezer. Now that Im in Louisiana I don’t get the sofrito anymore and wanted to make some to go with the pernil I’m making for thanksgiving. Thank you so much! Making tonight!

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